Despite stock markets crashing in the US, Europe and elsewhere, it’s been a fairly flat year for the UK’s FTSE 100 index. On 31 December 2021, the Footsie closed at 7,384.54 points. On Friday, the index closed at 7,389.98, up 5.44 points (a mere 0.07%) in 2022.
This is a pretty decent performance from the UK’s blue-chip index, given the falls elsewhere. For example, the US S&P 500 index has dived 18.1% since 2021, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index has crashed by 27.4% in 2022. Compared to these US market indices, the FTSE 100 is sitting pretty.
The FTSE 100’s winners and losers over six months
Of course, not all FTSE 100 shares have performed well in this calendar year. As you’d expect, some Footsie stocks have leapt, while others have slumped. Of 100 shares in the index, only 29 have risen in value over the six months. Gains among these 29 winners range from below 0.1% to a chunky 45.2%, with the average increase being 17.2%.
At the other end of the scale lie 71 FTSE 100 losers over the past six months. Losses among these 71 losing shares range from just 0.1% to a hefty 60.2%. The average decline across these 71 slumpers is more than a fifth (-21.7%).
The Footsie’s five biggest flops
For the record, these are the FTSE 100’s five steepest fallers over the past six months:
| Company | Sector | Share price (p) | 6mth change | 12mth change | Market value (£bn) | Price/earnings ratio | Earnings yield | Dividend yield |
| ITV | Media | 70.49 | -40.6% | -45.2% | 2.8 | 7.6 | 13.2% | 4.7% |
| Hargreaves Lansdown | Financial | 859.94 | -42.2% | -48.6% | 4.1 | 15.3 | 6.5% | 4.5% |
| JD Sports Fashion | Retail | 120.95 | -47.7% | -33.2% | 6.2 | 146.1 | 0.7% | 0.2% |
| Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust | Financial | 738.75 | -51.2% | -35.8% | 10.7 | – | – | 0.5% |
| Ocado Group | Retail | 770.61 | -59.3% | -60.6% | 5.8 | – | – | – |
As you can see, these five FTSE 100 shares have taken a brutal beating over the past six months, with losses ranging from over 40% to nearly 60%. The worst performer — high-tech retailer Ocado Group — has lost around three-fifths of its market value over six months and one year. Yikes.
The other dogs of the Footsie include tech-stock investment fund Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, sports- and leisurewear retailer JD Sports Fashion, and financial platform Hargreaves Lansdown.
I’d buy one of these dogs today
Among these five beaten-down FTSE 100 shares, I see one ‘fallen angel’ with potential to reward me with decent dividends and future capital growth. This battered company with prospects is broadcaster and TV producer ITV. To be honest, if I had ITV’s current market value of £2.8bn, I’d buy the entire group today.
Sure, competing against larger media rivals — especially the US streaming giants — is tough. But ITV shares trade on a lowly price-to-earnings ratio of 7.6% and a bumper earnings yield of 13.2%. Furthermore, the dividend yield of 4.7% a year is almost 1.2 times the FTSE 100’s cash yield of around 4%.
To sum up, faced with rampant inflation (rising consumer prices), rising interest rates, the Russia/Ukraine war and slowing Chinese economic growth, now isn’t an easy time to buy shares. Even so, though I don’t own ITV shares today, I’d buy them now in the hope of a robust rebound when sentiment finally improves!